Stocking-knitting machine.



G. P. BOSWORTH. STOCKING KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLICAIION F|LED APR.H.1914.

3 SHEETS-SHED' l.

W I l y um' Patented Nov. 14, 1916.

Mll:

G. P.B0svv0R1H. -STOCKING` KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APK1II|I9I4 Patented Novi 14, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

figa,

G. P. BOSWORTH. SIOCKING KNITTING MACHINE.

` APPLICATION FILED APK. II, IQIII. 1,204,397. Patented Nov. 14, 1916.

3 SHIzETS-SHEET 3.

f I I l I I I I I I l I I I I I l l Geenen P. jnoswonrn, on CENTRAL FALLS, nHonE ISLAND, Assisnoiemo nei/Lemmi.

Manomernnino. co., on Si? Leones?.

To all whom t may concern l' Y y lBe it known that I, GEORGE l. Boswon'rnt, citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Central Falls, Rhode Island, have invented 'certain new .and useful Improveinentsl in Stockiiig-Knitting Machines, of which the following is aspecilication.

My invention relatesto circular knitting machines of the type designed to narrow and widen the fabric, for instance in making heels and toeso stockings, and one object of iny invention is to provide a machine in which the widening operation can` he' continued beyond thev point Where widening `ceases in present',practice,y 1A result flowing from 1 'a iniichiiil capaeitated to accomplish this result is'tiiat-an additionalr number 'ot coursesof knitting mz'f. he thrown in between the heel. gore 'and the lfoot after completing thel usual -foimofheel pocket, thus giving to the stocking a longer sole thanvinstepl tending to inake the footl as sume a position nearer to aright angle than is customary-iii seamless stockings andv giving i'is'e to other advantages hereinafter pointed out.;

Itis usualin circular knitting machines for inakingseaniless stockings to employ ahalf circle of short butt heel andft'oe needles, and a half circle of long butt 1nstep needles, and to `make theA long buttV instep needles:k n'operativein an kelevated position ivhilepicking is done on the snort f butt needles for making the heel and toe,

It has not been found practical heretofore to continue picking on the' instep needles, and the 'widening' actions were therefore necessarily limited to a number of needles less than the half circle of short butts. ln

carrying out my invention, however, l'` pro vide a way of continuing the picking dur- -ing the widening process beyond the. point where the usual forni of heel pocket'iis pio duced, with the result 'that tlie` `form of stookingabove `mentioned may be knit.

The inventio onsists in the features and combination'ari rrangement of parts hereinafter describe and particularlypointed out in the claims.

Vliile my invention may be carriedoi'it in connection with machines of various makes, in the particular forni chosen to illustrate my invention it is shown in connection with v Specincatioii of Letters Patent.

Annweiler, nn'onn isnann. Y

granted' to 1909.

, Fatented Novt, i916. eppinaaon mea epm 11, i914. seriai meanest'.- 1 i In `the drawings Figi'irel isa diagram i matic view nl the usual form of stocking,

showing the. vheel gore; Fig. 2 isa view of a? `stocking produced onniy improved machine tie heel gore and the additional havin widenings l'ietwee'n the saine and the foot: Fig.y B is azfrontview of a knitting head embodying my improvements; Fig. 4 is a front view of part of. Fig. y

View shovif'ing certain driving and lcontrolling nient ofy is a plan View of the cam'ringand 165 n 3; Figi isa front `View'inouvtline' of the knittingv head, said.

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its support; Fig 8' is a sectional view'of the needle cylinder wall showingthe jacksf-g needles, and 'the instep lowering cam; Fig:

9 is a `view similar toFig.' 8 showing'the` jacks', needles. and the ordinary instep ,camA Y for-use when some ot" the needles of the.

instep series are provided with long butts; Fig. ll0 is a view of the. ordinary instep cams of Fig. 9 with their operating mechal nism; Fig. il is' a viewyofa detail.

- In carrying. out my invention all thevl sol needles throughout-the .entire needle circle .l

may be short-butt needles, or all of lthev heel and toe needles, together with some of the instep 'needle's, may bei short butt, the re'- niaiiiing needles ofv the instep series having longgbutts, as in4 ordinary practice;

l will first refer toga machine havinga short-butts throughout the entireneedle' circle'.` It may be notedhez'e that'while the"` term .short-hutt is a relative one ordinarily 1 y involving comparison with a huttof greater length, yet 'for' convenience l einploythis term ini referringto that embodiment 'of niy ,inventionl rst mentioned, in which all the j f ,needles of the entire circle have substantially the saine length of hutt because in the artthe heel and toeneedlesare' ordinarily referred" to as short butt needles, andin my invention" needles of. this same chai'acterin whole or. in" l part make up the'instep series,-

in' ai@ amwingsaw mais Cylinder 1, the

stitch cams 2, the guard cam, narrowing picks 4, widening picks ,5, instep restoring cam 6, its vertically adjustable block 7, the bell'crank lever 8, operating connection 9, and other parts hereinafter referred to are substantially of the saine form and arrangelnent as on the Banner machine.

Referring to all the drawings excepting Figs. 9 and 1,0: The short-butt needles are indicated at a, Fig. 8, and in the form of machine now being described these would compose the entire needle circle.

The lower instep cam ordinarily employed for elevating the instep needles to inoperative position is omitted, this in usual practice being attached to the vertically adjustable block to be elevated when the machine goes on reciprocating knittin for the heel and toe. Instead of this cam employ jacks for raising the instep needles to render them inoperative when the heel and-toe 'isltobe formed, these jacks 10 having butts engaging the cam groove 11 formed on the y inner face of the cam ring, and vfor operating these jacks to raise the instep needles a' pivoted switch cam 12 is employed mounted within a recess or cut-out portion of the cam ring and pivoted at`13. vThiscam is shown in its lowest position in Figs. 3 and 4, and in full lines'in Fig. 6. lVhen in this position the jacks ride over this cam, but are not raised far enough to elevate the needles. The jacks in the form of machine now being described are under one-half the needles, these being the instep needles. When the switch cam is raised to the dotted line position of Fig. 6, the jacks will be raised, and in turn will raise the instep needles, it being iinderstoodthat the instep jack cam 12 is raised when the jacks and instep needles are on tl'ieopposite side of the needle circle from that on which tlie'jack cam is located. At the same time the restoring cam 6 of the usual instep set is also raised.

When raised by the jacks the instep needles have their butts in position to engage and pass 'over the A shaped cam 14, which is fixed to the usual cam supporting plate H i A' of the Hemphill machine, and' upon being elevated by this fixed cam the instep needles are in inoperative position, for it will be noticed that they will then pass over the picks,

. the stitch cams 2 and the guard cam 3, and

they will remain in this position: All the A' instep needles having been elevated as justl described, the formation of the heel pocket by narrowing and widening will go on by the picks, the narrowing picks first acting to pick the heel and toe needles upwardly to inoperative position, as in ordinary practice first` at one end of the column of a'ctive heel and toe needles, and then at the other end and until narrowing has proceeded to the n proper point when the widening picks are rought into'action and widening of the fabric for the heel pocket takes place by picking down into operation a heel andtoe needle cause heretofore rpicking of the instep needles for additional widenings has not been practical owing to these instep needles having long butts, but in my present machine the picking for widening the fabric can be continued after the widenings for the heel pocket have been performed, be-

cause picking by the widening picks can continue on the short butt needles of the instep series after the heel gore has been formed, these instep needles having sub' stantially the same length butts as the heel and toe needles, and thus the additional widening course represented by the line `:a in Fig. 2 will be produced giving the stocking certain advantages already touched upon. For continuing this picking for widening after the widenings for the heel pocket have been made, it will be necessary to maintain the machine on its reciprocating movement after the widening has been effected to the point where narrowing began, and likewise to continue the widening pick mechanism in operation, and to hold the upper restoring cam 6 in its elevated position to avoid lowering the inoperative needles. After the additional widening courses have been made,

the machine goes on round knitting, as in ordinary practice, by throwing the widening pick mechanism out of operation, by changmg the movement of the machine from reciprocating to rotation in one direction, and by lowering the instep needle cam 6, it being understood that the jack switch cam also has been lowered, this taking place if desired as soon as all the jacks have been ele vated to their full limit thereby.

It is not necessary to have a half circle of jacks and a full circle of short butt needles, as it is necessary to have only as many short butt needles in the instep series' with their coperating jacks as is required to widen the fabric for the heel pocket widenings and continue beyond the vpoint where narrowing began. In other words,

iio

the instep series of needles maybe composed in part of short lbutt needles, and in part widening could be continued on the instepL izo 1,204,307., ,l j A needles up to the end of the column ofthe short butt needles of this series. i lThe cani lo is lattached as in usual prac7 tice to tho vertically adjustable block 7 to'` more with the cani 6. These cams are ele-` vated to render the instep needlesi inoperative, orwvhen only the uppercam (i is em. V

ployed this cam is raised and lowered,H by the link 9 connected with the motionchaiig iiiglevei1 o which is common in the Banneri` machine. This lever is pivoted at 18 to the frame, and its lower'eiid is controlled by the pattern drain 19;l It operatesa clutch member 20 to drive thez machine `'either through` the gearing 21foi round knitting i or through the qiiadiaiit'22 and gear 2 3 for reipzipi-ocatiiig knitting. The machine as Vrepresented in Fig. 5 is set foriround knitting,

the lever o being swung to the right at itsupper end to make the clutchdrive from' the. gearing 21. The restoring or lowering cam 3 for the instep needles as sliownin Fig. `G

. is down, the connection 9 and bellV crank lever 8 having been operated to so position this cani, or if both instep cams and`16arc used, z'. 0;, with a few loiigbutt instep" needles, both of these cams would be down, The jack operating switch cam 12 would also he down. This cam is mountedon the shaft 1&3 to turn therewith, s aidshaftgbeing jonrnaled in the cam supporting plateH and having an arm 24 iiiiedtoits outerend ccniiccted by .link 25,' lever 26, and link 27l to a lever 2S pivotedto the frame and operated "by projections `29 'of the patterniineolanism,

and bya spring I28". y

The quadrant gear 22 will, ,of coursebe of proper length to give thedesiredlength of stroke of the machinexon reciprocating work, for instance slightly more than a full revolution. The 'desired length of stroke can be secured in other ways. The; pattern drum 19 is substantially the same as in the i step by step movement from a tine toothed titl ratchet operated as in the Hemphill patent. @The inaintcuance-oij thei'eciprocations of the needle cylinder beyond the point where Widening for the heel pocket ceases is con? trolled from the pattern chain. VOrdinarily there is an equal number of links tornarrowing and widening, say, for instance, nine tgv nai-rnwiniy and -nine for widening, but

with my improvement we have,for instance, nine links for narrowing and more vtoir widening.

The stocking referred to as illustrating tion is capable lis what is known to the trade as the Hirnei-fashioned foot stocking, thisA being a. seamless stocking having licei and toe pockets correspondingto the usual heel and, toe'pockets of seamless stockings but having interposed between the heelgore and the foot a certain number of additional widening courses otiknitting, two courses of f knitting in this part of thestockingto one Wale inf the ankle., which merges with them. As above stated, this gives to the stocking a Vthe character of work ot which my inven- 7o longerL sole than instep, and positions the foot more nearly at a right angle to the leg than isithe case with a stocking foi'inedinl the usual 'way by terminating the lwidening at the saine point where the narrowings began in' the formation of the heel pocket. The

new coi'istructioii of stocking alsogivcs a greaterwvidth from the instep to the point of the heel. i f

i Where in the appended claims I refer toA elevating instep needles Ato inoperative posi-r tion by jacks, I mean that these needles`` either in whole or in part are acted on by these jacks, the preceding description malel ing it clearthat some ot the instep needles mayhave long butts to be raisedby the e ordinary instep cani, asin ordinary practice.`

I claim as my invention l. In combination ina stocking knittint'fg` machine, narrowing -and widening pick' mechanism, heel and toe and instep needles, having substantially the saine length of bntts, means including a vlifting cam for making instep needles inoperative as a group 1n beginning the formation ot the heel, said widening pick mechanism continuing` its operation upon the group of instep needles as raised by said cain at'ter widening for' the heel pocket has been completed to make addi-` tional widening courses, substantially as de'- scribed.

2. In combination `in a circular' stocking *knitting machine, short butt needles for making tlieheel and toe pockets, and short butt instep needles, andnarrowing and widening pick mechanism, said `widening pick mechanism operating upontlie heel needles to widen f or the heel pocket and` continuing lts operation upon the kshort butt instep needles after the widening for the heel `pocket has been performed to thereby throw iiiadditioiial widening courses previous to resumingv round knitting, described. v l

In combination in a circular knitting inachiiiefor making` stockings, heel and toe needles, instep needles, jacks for elevating solistantially as i ,the desired number of instep needles, as a group to render them inoperative, a cam for connections for moving said needle restoring cani vertically to dillerent positions, an automatically operated vertically movable needle raising cani for raising instep needles, and narrowing and widening pick mechanism, said last mentioned cam being pivotally mounted to swing in a vertical` plane, said widening pick mechanism con'.

tinuing the widenings beyond the point where narrowing begank and connectionsl automatically operating independently of the iii-st mentioned connections for operating the needle raising cani and lowering it before the continued widening of the fabric takes place, substantially as described.

5. ln combination in a stocking knitting machine, a needle cylinder, heel and toe and instep needles, knitting cams, a vertically movable needle restoring cam to engage the instep needle butts for lowering them to operative position, automatically operating connections for moving said needle lowering cani vertically to different positions, an automatically operated vertically movable cani for raising instep needles, narrowing and widening pick mechanism, and jacks under the instep needles and operated by said last mentioned cani, said widening pick mechanism continuing the widenings beyond tlie point where narrowing began and connections automatically operating independently ot' the first mentioned connections for operating the needle raising cani and lowering it before the continued widening of the fabric takes place, substantially as described.

cylinder, narrowing land widening pick mechanism, a vertically sliding restoring cam for the needles, a vertically swinging cam for elevating the needles, a rock shaft carrying said cani, a change motion lever 6. In combination in a circular stockingA machine, a rotary and reciprocatoryV needle` foichanging the movement of the needle cylinder from rotary to reciprocating movement, connections for sliding the instep cam, said widening pick mechanism continuing theV widenings` beyond the point where narrowingbegan, and ay second set of .connections operating independentlyi of the connections first'inentioned for roe ng the shaft carrying the needle elevating cam, said cam being lowered to normal position before the continued-widenings begin, substantially as described. Y

7. In combination in a stocking knitting machine of the type having a rotary needle ting cams and varying their position relative to the needles according to its adjustment, a post mounted on said plate, a vertically adjustable needle restoring cani slidably mounted insaid post, a cam pivotally mounted on said plate to swing vertically for adjusting the instep needles toward inoperative position,and connections for operating the pivotcd cam and 'sliding the restoring cam, 1n-

dependently -ofk each other, said Widening pickmechanism continuing its actions beyond the point wherenarrowing-began, and said ivoted cam returning to normal position fore the continued widenings begin, substantially as described. t

8. In combination in a stocking knitting niacliineof the type having a rotary needle cylini er and a non-rotary cam ring, knitting cams, heel and toc and instep needles, a vertically adjustable plate carrying the knitting cams and varying their position relative t'o the needles according to its adjustment, a post mounted on `said plate, a vertically 'adjustable'needle restoring cam slidably mounted in said post, a cam pivotally mounted on plate to swing vertically for adjusting theinstep needles toward inoperativo position, kconnections for operating 4the pivoted cam and sliding the restoring cam, and jacks ycarried b the cam ring to be operated by said pivote cam, substantially 106 as described;

In testimony whereof, I aixmy signature in presence oftwo witnesses.

GEORGE P. BOSWORTH. Witnesses:

.Lamis L. JnNxs, JOHN Lawson. 

